How To Pay Off $72K In Debt For Pennies On The Dollar
Most people accumulate debt at some point or another. It just happens. Here is my journey on how I paid off $72,000 in debt for pennies on the dollar. Some things happen in life that you can’t control, and one of those things is credit card debt.
Before we got married, my wife and I made a deal that I would pay off all of my debt and be debt-free before we walked down the aisle. Over the years, my negotiating skills had become top-notch from all the sales jobs I had had. I knew I could have hired a company like Curadebt to do all the negotiating for me, but I figured I could do it for myself because of my experience on the phone. My lovely wife-to-be helped me with the process by pulling a tri-merge credit report from TransUnion. Once we had the report, we then looked at all the accounts that I had in collections. It’s much easier to negotiate with collection agencies than to negotiate with a credit card company. I highlighted all the accounts in collections and made a list with phone numbers to call to negotiate. I’ll never forget, I had an account in collections for $28,000 that I negotiated down to $3,200 bucks!
I was able to do this because when you have debt in collections, your debt is sold off from collection agency to collection agency, so the company I negotiated with found money coming to them with the $3,200 because they purchased it for much less than I owed. Once I paid off the settled amount, the account was listed as settled on my report.
I had another account that was for $1,300 that I negotiated down to $160 bucks. Keep in mind that you have to be firm with the agent that you are speaking with. Keep to a budget when you are speaking to a collection agency. You always have to have the upper hand. You always start with the most minimal amount. I paid off $72,000 in debt for just around $5,000! After my debt was paid off, my wife put me as a co-signer on her credit cards. She always paid on time. This strategy helped build my credit score back up to over 700 in a few months. What an amazing feeling to go from not being able to qualify for a scooter to having A-paper credit!
Companies like Curadebt can do this negotiating for you if you don’t like confrontation over the phone or selling. Settling your debt is just like sales because you have to beat the collection agencies up over the phone and not let them bully you. Curadebt is one of the most respected debt relief companies out there, and the results they achieve are incredible. If you want to see your credit report, Credit Karma is the best place to go for a free report. It’s easy, and your credit report is available to you in just a few clicks.
A tri-merge credit report is the best because you get reporting from the three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The best way to get all three of your credit reports in one place is by signing up for an inexpensive membership with TransUnion. Out of the three scores that you receive through the bureaus, go with your middle score. For example, you have a 692, a 714, and a 706, your mid score would be 706. The tri-merge credit reports show you everything you would need to see, from accounts in good standing to accounts in collections.
Curadebt will settle your debt, and they will also settle tax debt, which is huge. Many people and companies suffer from personal debt and tax debt, and Curadebt is the best source to get you in good standing. If you need a quick credit report Credit Karma, is the best source. At the end of the day, you need a tri-merge credit report to see what is really going on with your credit situation. Debt sucks, so companies like CuraDebt can help you achieve freedom from collection agencies and obnoxious phone calls. If you want the annoying calls to stop, I would implement this strategy.
Ignoring their calls will not help you. It will just continue. It has been several years, my credit score is over 750, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s an amazing feeling to know that you have the credit to do so when you’re in a bind and need to take out a credit card or a loan. My journey to fixing my credit was pretty easy if you think about it. All it took was a few phone calls and sticking to my guns. Be relentless, and the bully will back down.
Collection agencies try to bully you, saying they will sue you. That is just a sales tactic they use to scare you. Remember that the bully always gets their ass kicked when you stand up to them at the end of the day. Mike Tyson said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” This is true, especially with collection agencies. I hope my story has helped, and if you follow this strategy, it will help you too. This is an easy strategy to follow. Anybody can achieve it if they really want to.
